Punta Carnero is a headland on the coast of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, near the city of

Algeciras Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...

, where the eastern end of Gallows Hill descends 200 metres to meet the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. Its most prominent feature is

Punta Carnero lighthouse Punta Carnero Lighthouse ( es, Faro de Punta Carnero) is an active lighthouse located on the headland known as Punta Carnero to the south of Algeciras, Spain. The lighthouse was designed and built by Jaime Font, who also designed the lighthouse ...

, which marks the entrance to the

Bay of Gibraltar The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...

and the

Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...

. Goat Island lies near the lighthouse, and the Bay of Getares begins here.

History

In August 1415, a Portuguese fleet captained by King

John I of Portugal John I ( pt, João �uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...

held a

Council of war A council of war is a term in military science that describes a meeting held to decide on a course of action, usually in the midst of a battle. Under normal circumstances, decisions are made by a commanding officer, optionally communicated ...

, before carrying out the

conquest of Ceuta The conquest of Ceuta by the Portuguese on 21 August 1415 marks an important step in the beginning of the Portuguese Empire in Africa. History In 711, shortly after the Arab conquest of North Africa, the city of Ceuta was used as a stagin ...

, while anchored off Punta Carnero.Peter Russell, ''Prince Henry 'the Navigator' A life'', Ed.

Yale Nota Bene Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universit ...

, 2001, p47-p48

References

* Madoz, Pascual (1845)
''Diccionario geográfico-estadístico-histórico de España y sus posesiones de Ultramar''p.555
{{in lang, esEstablecimiento Literario-tipográfico de P. Madoz y L. Sagasti. * Cartografía militar de España. Servicio geográfico del ejército, Madrid 1959. Hoja Nº14-48 (1.078) Geography of Spain

History

See also

References